101 Women Who Made A Difference

Women like Kalpana Chawla- the Indian born, who fought her way up into NASA and was the first women in space, Indira Gandhi-the Iron Woman of India, who was the Prime Minister of the Nation, Mother Teresa- the icon of service and spiritual strength, Medha Patkar- the woman who is able to hear the cries of the Narmada valley, Savitri Bai Phule- the pioneer of women's education in India, Dr. Kiren Bedi- the first woman IPS, who first raised her voice against the gender bias and fought for women's equality, Rani Maria who laid down her life for saving the rural villagers, are the women who remind us day in and out the difference they made. The countless other women who toil hard with their tireless spirit and determination to compete in this ocean of humanity to fulfil their dreams, their hopes, their aspirations and hold on to their commitment and determination has inspired me in my life's journey. It is their ceaseless search for meaning and fulfilment that challenged me to put down my thoughts. It is their energy and vitality that boosts my spirit to forge ahead. It is their names that are written in golden letters in the blue sky 'God created women because He could not be present everywhere'. Mary Scaria Excerpts from Introduction Mary Scaria SCJM is a practicing advocate of the Supreme Court of India. She has authored and edited many books such as Minorities In the Present Political Scenario, Law and Your Rights, Human Rights : A Close Look, Maid in Hell, Woman : An Endangered Species, The Unknown Face of the Church, Worship: Promotion of Justice and Peace, The Voice of a Child in Favour of a Child, Law & Gender Justice etc... Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgement The Beauty of a Woman Introduction PART - I They continue to make a difference 1. Arnica Singh 2. Amiradha Goburdhun Bakhshi 3. Armida Fernandez 4. Arumi Rov 5. Arundhati Rov 6. Brinda Karat 7. Gvnl Mooney 8. Celine 9. Davabai 10. M. FathimaBeevi 11 Flavia Agnes 12. Gita Melua 13. Gladys Staines. 14 Gloria Benny 15. IndiraJai Singh 16. Indu Shahani 17. G. K.Janu 18. Jeanne Devos 19. JvotsnaGhatterji 20. Kamla Bhasin. 21. Kapila Vatsyayan 22. Kiran Bedi 23. KiranDesai 24. Lata Mangeshkar 25. Lata Pratibha Madhukar 26. LeilaSeth 27. Madhu Purnima Kishwar 28. Mahasweta Devi 29. Mamoni Raisom Goswami 30. Mamta Banerjee. 31. ManekaGandhi 32. Mata Amritanandamayi 33. Mayawati 34. MedhaPatkar 35. MeiraKumar. 36. Minna Kabir 37. MinaSwaminathan 38. MohiniGiri 39. Mrinal Pande. 40. NanditaHaksar 41. Nirmala. 42. PalakMuchhal 43. PinkiVirani 44. Pratibha Devisingh Patil 45. PunitaArora. 46. RajniTilak. 47. RaniJethmalani 48. Ranjana Kumari 49. Rinki Bhattacharya 50. Rohini Godbole 51. RumaPal 52. RuthManorama 53. SantoshYadav 54. Sarojini Sahoo 55. Seema Mustafa. 56. Shabana Azmi 57. Shabnam Hashmi 58. ShanthaSinha 59. Sheila Dikshit 60. Shobha De 61. Shruri Nagvanshi 62. Sonia Gandhi 63. Suhha.shini Ali 64. SudliaVaighe.se 65. Sujata Manohar 66. Sunita Narain 67. Nyeda Saividain Ha'meed 68. Tanika Sarkar 69. Tara GandhiBhattacharjee . 70. Teesta Setalvad 71. P.T. Uslia 72. Valsala George 73. Vandana Shiva. 74. Vandana Ma raj 75. VijavalakshmiRavindranath 76. Virginia Saldanha PART - II They left behind a legacy 77. Anirita Pritani 78. Anirita Slier-Gil 79. Aruna Asaf Ali 80. Asima 81. Banoo lehangir Coyaji 82. Bhikhaiji Rusrom Cama 83. Durgabai Deshnuikh 84. Hansa Mehta 85. Indira Gandhi 86. Kalpana Chawla 87. KamaladeviGhattopadhyay 88. Kasturba Gandhi 89. Mridula Sarabhai 90. MorherTeresa 91. Pandita Ramabai. 92. Pritilata Waddedar 93. Rani Maria 94. Raj Kumari Anirit Kaur 95. Renuka Ray 96. Rukmini Devi Arundale 97. Sarojini Naidu 98. Savitribai Phule 99. M.S. Subbulakshmi lOO.Sucheta Kriplani 101. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit References